A Champion's Prize
by Jessi - Princess of Impatience
Summary: A box of items bring back memories Sarah long forgot and, with them, a special prize. JS romance, WIP, Ch4 up 7.20.05
1. The Old Box

_A/N: This fic will be much shorter than my others, a one-shot they simply would not stay a one-shot. It is going to be about six chapters, but some of the chapters are quite long and really do not have a good break to make them more than one. _

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the movie Labyrinth. The Labyrinth characters and events in the movies belong to Jim Henson, may he rest in peace as his legacy lives on through all of us. I seek to make no profit from this venture and I promise to return everything back the way I found it. 

* * *

A Champion's Prize  
Story by Jessica Arbuckle (Jessi, Princess of Impatience)  
June - undetermined, 2005

**Chapter One, The Old Box…**

The moonlight shone into an apartment filled with partially unpacked boxes. In the midst of all of it sat Sarah, rifling through boxes and stuffing packing products into a large trash bag. She turned to a small box next to her and paused. Unlike many of the others, this one was dusty and appeared to have been packed years ago. It was marked, in bold black marker, 'Childhood.' She stood up from the floor, working the kinks out of hr neck and back before she picked up the box and headed in the direction of her bedroom to put it in the closet. She would look at it later, she had too many other boxes to unpack. 

She walked through the apartment, a gift from her parents for her 21st birthday a week ago. She had teased them, saying they were trying to get rid of her, but she knew they were simply trying to give her a place of her own now that she was finished with school and looking for a job. She had not accepted any money for college, preferring instead to work for what her scholarships had not covered, and they had begged her to take this place. She had relented by only allowing them to make the first year of rent payments while she job-hunted. She went into the bedroom, the one room that was completely free of boxes and already decorated. She had spent the afternoon getting this room completely ready after they had finished moving the boxes and her family had left. 

As she reached up to place it on the shelf in her closet, something pricked at her mind, a fragment of a memory of what was in this box. Instead of placing it on the shelf, she sat down on the floor, the box in her lap. As the tape was old, it peeled away easily. Opening the lid, she found many childhood toys and memorabilia she had long since placed away from her mentally and physically. 

She pulled out several stuffed animals and figures before coming to a small leather book with the words 'The Labyrinth' embossed on the front. She opened it to where its ribbon bookmark lay and looked down at the page. 

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here, to the castle beyond the Goblin City, to bring back the child that you have stolen…" she read out loud, and then paused, gasping. She dropped the book as images and memories assaulted her mind - Toby taken away by her selfish wish, meeting her dear friends, facing the Goblin King. For over five years she had no dreams or memories of the Labyrinth, at least any that she could remember, until now. At first, the shock was almost overwhelming, that she could have forgotten, that she had made herself forget. 

She had pushed all of it, the good and the bad, down in her mind, buried it and forced herself to forget all the things that had happened to her, things she had brought on by wishing Toby away. At first, she hadn't want to, but she was unable to move beyond that point in her life until she had. She had been too obsessed with the place, wanting to go back, to see all her friends, to even see him. At barely sixteen, she had thought to grow up meant to leave all childish things behind. She hadn't considered that perhaps it wasn't necessary to forget and leave behind those childish things that were very real, that perhaps they were a vital part of her. 

Now, to her extreme regret, she realized that all of what she had gone through was indeed very much a part of her that she had been foolish to try and forget. It had shaped who she had become. She was different now than she was before that night. Instead of selfish and spoiled, she was now wiser, kinder and compassionate. And she had grown up, in every sense of the word. She had even had relationships that had sprung from her newly awakened ability to truly see what was going on around her instead of what she wanted to see. Yet, something had held her back from accepting her last boyfriend's proposal, from sleeping with him or the others and from even letting them get close to her heart or body. Now she knew what it was. 

It was him – Jareth the Goblin King, baby snatcher and fantasy come true. The memories of him were the strongest and for a moment she wondered how she had ever allowed herself to forget him, to forget the way he spoke in that soft accented voice that could sound cold or amused or even gentle, to forget the way he looked, his wild frost blonde hair framing a face that contained the most gorgeous mouth and incredible eyes. Eyes that were mismatched, one a crystal blue and the other a fluctuation of green and hazel, eyes that had burned with fiery anger and even softened in what she had once girlishly believed was love. 

And that was when she realized the truth. She loved him and only him. Although she had forced her conscious mind to forget, her subconscious and heart had not. She almost laughed at herself at how ridiculous that sounded, to love someone she had only just remembered. Perhaps, though, that was why she had fought so hard to forget. 

The ache of sitting in this position for almost an entire evening, then repeating it again now, sprung her from her thoughts and she set the box on the floor, reaching once more for the book. She stood and walked to her bed and sat, stretching out as she slowly stroked the cover of the well-loved little book. She traced the title on the cover as she whispered, "Jareth, if only I knew how you felt about me." 

She felt the book grow warm under her fingers and she sat up straight, almost dropping it. A strange voice, at the same time like the sound of the wind through the trees and like the sound of thunder in a storm, whispered in her mind faintly but soon grew loud enough for her to understand. 

"Champion of the Labyrinth, at last you have called. You have taken much longer than was expected. Is this wish what you desire for solving the Labyrinth?" 

'What, now I'm hearing things?' she thought. What a perfect addition to this night. 

The strange voice laughed – at least that is what the noise it had uttered sounded like to Sarah. "Know this, my champion. I am the essence of eternal magic, the true protector and overseer of the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is both a part of, yet also separate from, the kingdom of the line that rules the goblins. They care for the Labyrinth and are given use of its magic to complete their task. In order to finish your game with the current ruler, you had to solve the Labyrinth, which few have ever done. But know this - solving the Labyrinth has awakened magic you hold deep within you, which has allowed you to call to me and once allowed you to call to the ruler of the Goblin Kingdom. As you have solved the Labyrinth, and possess the magic to call to me, you will receive your prize. And now I ask you again. Is this wish what you desire for solving the Labyrinth?" 

Sarah's mind reeled at the thoughts in her head. She had magic. More than that, a voice from the Labyrinth was offering her anything she desired to wish for on the night she had discovered her heart's true desire. 

"Yes, that is exactly what I want," she said out loud to the empty room. 

"Then sleep now, oh champion, as I show you the desires of the heart of Jareth, King of the Goblins." 

Sarah lay back against the pillows, closing her eyes. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard the voice once more. 

"And may we meet again soon," the voice whispered, sounding almost amused.

* * *

_a/n: Please R/R, I would just adore it!_


	2. Desires of the Past

_A/N: This fic is almost done, so I thought I'd upload the chapter up to the unfinished one. _

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the movie Labyrinth. The Labyrinth characters and events in the movies belong to Jim Henson, may he rest in peace as his legacy lives on through all of us. I seek to make no profit from this venture and I promise to return everything back the way I found it. 

* * *

A Champion's Prize  
Story by Jessica Arbuckle (Jessi, Princess of Impatience)  
June - undetermined, 2005

**Chapter Two, Desires of the Past…**

Sarah was in a black space with no sound, light or movement. She could not see her own hand as she waved it wildly in front of her face. She moved backwards slightly, bumping against something soft. She felt around experimentally as she realized it was some kind of chair or couch. A whisper came to her as she sat. 

"See first the desires of the past, from his dreams when his heart is most open," the voice said softly. 

Suddenly, Sarah was assaulted by images in front of her, blinking at the change in light as they played out like movies in the blackness before her, moving quickly past her gaze, too fast for her to catch anything she could recognize. They slowed onto one scene, that of the dream ballroom. As before, it was crowded with various people in gorgeous costumes and masks, including a dark haired girl with wide eyes, glad in a beautiful gown, who did not have a mask. Sarah recognized the fifteen-year-old version of herself and wondered why she was being shown this, one of her own memories. 

She soon realized that it was not her memory, as she noticed things she would not have noticed in her search. What she could see now, that she had never before known had happened, was the fair-haired man with the demon horned mask who was singing. She watched him drop it and saw the look in his eyes. Although the girl could not see him, he was watching her with eyes full of love and desire. 

She watched him stay within sight of her, although she could not see him as she continued to search. As a fan came down behind the girl's head, she again saw his face, with a slight smile, looking so much in love Sarah felt her heart might break. What she had once thought her imagination she could now see was very much real. Jareth had loved her in that place, showing it there as he had not been able to anywhere else. 

She smiled sadly as she watched the two find each other and begin to dance, their eyes locked as the man continued to sing. "Silly girl," she whispered softly to the girl in the image, "how could you not have known?" She was shocked when another figure became noticeable in the background. It was Jareth, but not the Jareth of the dance. This one was clothed casually, both his hands and feet bare and she realized he was a spectator in his own dream, yet part of it. She saw the sad longing written clearly on his face and felt an overwhelming desire to comfort him. 

The image shifted, once again assuming the wild spinning before coming to stop at another scene, this one of their last meeting. This time, Sarah viewed it from over Jareth's shoulder as he offered the crystal. She looked intently into the crystal instead of at the two speaking, for she could see things moving within it. In shock, she could see various images – Jareth kissing her head softly as she slept in his arms in a bed; walking down an isle in a white dress, her hand firmly tucked into her father's, walking slowly towards Jareth as his mismatched eyes gazed at her, bright and happy; Jareth holding a bundle of blankets in his arms as he looked down at her, tears in his eyes; Jareth playing within the Labyrinth with three small children that looked like a mix of them both and one who was older than the rest… tall and blonde with bright blue eyes… it was Toby. "My dreams," she breathed, feeling her eyes well up with tears. Her dreams had been to be with him, to marry him, to even have children together that could know and play with Toby, who had not been a goblin. 'How could I not have know,' she thought bitterly. 

She listened as he offered the dreams to the girl, dreams that the girl could not see and had not even known she had. As the words sunk in Sarah thought if she had only known she loved him, she would have known she was able to convince him to not turn Toby into a goblin. As she thought this, the girl in the image boldly shot him down without a second thought and the man transformed into an owl. 

And again the images shifted, passing by her furiously until they came to an image of him and her in bed together, their bodies naked and sleek with perspiration born of the desires they were fulfilling. She felt almost embarrassed to be watching what was presented to her, for they were his most privates desires and dreams. She felt like an intruder, even though the dark-haired person beneath him was most definitely her. What they did in that bed she had never before done with anyone, but she found herself seriously considering what it would be like with him. 

The images came faster now, some of places she had never before seen, yet she and Jareth were there. She watched herself cavort in a wide open space with him, tackling him to she ground to kiss him as his hands roamed over her body. She watched herself laughingly struggle before he rolled, bringing her body under his. She then saw herself, in the throne room, at his side in a throne of her own as goblins scurried back and forth. One was performing a trick at which the Sarah on the throne, clothed in a magnificent gown, was laughing gaily about. She watched herself drop to the floor to hug the goblin as Jareth looked on in surprise and amusement. Then she saw herself in a bedroom with stone walls, standing at a high window as a white barn owl flew inside and circled her, turning into Jareth as he gathered her into his arms and carried her to the bed. 

The flashes came in short bursts now, scant minutes of moments in which she saw the both of them profess their love or utter sweet endearments as they walked, talked and held each other. By this time, tears were streaming down Sarah's face at the force and emotion of his dreams. Even if she had known he might love her, she had no idea he loved her this much. He had made a life for them in his dreams when she had rejected the life he wanted to give her from her dreams. 

The images faded to be replaced one again by the blackness. Sarah placed her head into her hands and wept for the loss of a love she had not known. She could not believe that he might still love her, after he had to endure all of this. The voice had said this was the past, after all. Sarah dreaded the moment the voice would show her what he felt now.

* * *

_a/n: Please R/R, I would just adore it!_


	3. Desires of the Now

_A/N: Here is yet another, woohoo! _

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the movie Labyrinth. The Labyrinth characters and events in the movies belong to Jim Henson, may he rest in peace as his legacy lives on through all of us. I seek to make no profit from this venture and I promise to return everything back the way I found it. 

* * *

A Champion's Prize  
Story by Jessica Arbuckle (Jessi, Princess of Impatience)  
June - undetermined, 2005

**Chapter Three, Desires of the Now…**

"See now the desires of this night, where I will leave you to your own destiny," the voice came back to her, still soft. Sarah braced herself for what she would witness. 

The blackness disappeared from all around her and Sarah found herself in a garden warm with sunlight. She blinked at the dramatic change from darkness to light and as her eyes readjusted, she saw to one side was a short, airy tent of brightly colored fabrics with a wide opening that revealed a low bed piled high with pillows of various shapes and colors. Her gaze roamed the rest of the garden, taking in the white marble benches and an enormous fountain made of marble with four high tiers from which the water flowed. 

Warm hands descended on her bare shoulders, sending a gentle warmth through her body. 'Bare shoulders," she thought in surprise and looked down to find that the shorts and shirt she had been wearing had been replaced by an outfit that she could only describe as a belly dancer's costume. The low cut top was nothing more than two triangle-shaped pieces of a bright green fabric held together around her neck and ribcage with a soft silver cord. Bright silver chains were twined around her bare waist and the pants were low slung on her hips. 'Pants?' her mind echoed, for they really were nothing more than bikini-like bottoms of the same bright green fabric to which pieces of fabric of several shades of green were attached. While they covered her legs, she knew any movement would expose the length of her leg from hip to ankle. The same fabric was attached to two silver bands that encircled her upper arms, below where the pale fingers rested on her body. 

"Perfect, you found my present," said an accented voice near her ear. She whirled around as she stepped back slightly, the sheer pieces of fabric cascading from her body as she looked up into his eyes. The mismatched eyes of Jareth, the man she loved. 

She realized, belatedly, that instead of watching the dream, she was part of it. She stared at him, and her breath caught in her throat. His chest was bare, the alabaster skin gleaming like pearl in the sun. Her eyes hungrily roved over his lightly muscled chest and flat abdomen, following the line of white blonde hair that trailed down his abdomen towards a pair of low slung, light colored breeches, snug against the lean muscles of his body. She felt her heart begin to pound and a warm feeling blossom in several areas of her body. All she had to do was reach forward slightly and she would be able to touch any bit of skin she wanted, trace that line of pale hair downwards… 

"Do you like it?" he asked, nuzzling her ear with the soft skin of his lips as he drew closer to her once more. She shivered, knowing he had meant the outfit and not the way she had been looking at his body. 

"Yes," she said breathlessly, meaning both the outfit and him. 

"Good," he purred, drawing her sharply against his body, the bare skin of her body meeting the bare skin of his. She felt her skin catch fire under the touch of his and she moaned softly, unconsciously flexing the hands she had braced against his bare chest when he had draw her to him. He grinned at her, his gaze smoldering as he laughed softly. 

"Now Sarah, we have plenty of time for that," he said, continuing to laugh softly, the sound melodic as it swirled around her like music. "Do you not desire to eat first?" 

Now was her chance. She could tell him she loved him and she was sorry and perhaps he might remember it in the morning. She would at least know if he still loved her as well. 

"I love you," she said desperately. 

"I know this. And I love you," he said with a grin. She felt her heart take on a faster and more thunderous pattern. 

"Say it again," she whispered. 

"I love you. I… love… you…," he said with a smile. "But you know this." 

"Listen to me," she said, still desperate. "I love you, I always have and I always will. I didn't know it until now and I am so sorry I did not realize it sooner. I'm sorry I tried to forget about you." 

He pulled back further to look at her, puzzled. "What _are_ you talking about? Are you feeling ill? Or," his eyebrows rose dramatically, "is this some kind of game?" He chuckled. "This **is** a game, you wicked girl. Would you like me to assume your favorite character?" 

At that, his lack of clothing changed into the black garb of the Goblin King. He crossed one arm across his chest as his gloved hand tapped his cheek. 

"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah," he said mockingly, his voice cold although his eyes sparkled with bright humor. "You dared to forget me? What a pity." 

Her senses exploded. He looked so beautiful, the put-on coldness of the 'character' he said he had assumed warring with his amusement at what he believed to be their game. Feelings and sensations grew in her, in places she had never before had such sensations. She was melting under his gaze, powerless to resist this shockingly real manifestation of the one she had tried so hard to forget. 

"I don't know what made me do it," she pleaded, fighting back her desire so he would know how she felt. "I thought it was how people grew up, by putting aside childish things. I didn't know I loved you. I didn't know what I was giving up when I said that awful line." 

"What's said is said," he quoted coldly, stalking towards her with what seemed to be deadly intent. "But I have decided to be generous." He gripped her upper arms, gazing down into her eyes and seeing how much she wanted him, how much she loved him. 

"How," she panted, his gaze holding her frozen in his arms. 

"I will allow you to remain my wife if you come to bed with me right now," he said, the mask and clothing slipping from him as he winked at her and she felt their location change. Looking around, she realized they were now inside the tent. Jareth, once again glad only in the breeches, stretched out on the low bed, propping himself up with some of the many pillows. 

"Do you accept?" he asked softly. 

'Yes, a thousand times yes!' her mind screamed as his gaze roamed lecherously over her body, igniting a fire along the path his eyes traveled. She nodded and watched his mismatched eyes darken as he beckoned to her. 

"Come to me then my sweet wife." 'Wife?' her mind echoed. That was the second time he had said it. He thought they were married! For him, this was only a dream and she was filled with bittersweet longing. He may never know how she truly felt, but at least she could give him herself for real, whether he knew it or not. 

No matter what happened after this, whether they were ever together again or not, she would always have this dream, which she would fight furiously to remember, and she was determined to make it perfect. She had never done the thought that came to her mind, but somehow her body seemed to know what to do. With a sly smile, she turned her back on him, snapping off one of the pieces of fabric attached to her armbands and drew it slowly over her face as she looked over a shoulder at him. 

"Mmm, I had hoped that was why you asked for that present," he murmured hoarsely as she turned and began to slowly draw the fabric over her bare body. He waved his hands and soft, sultry music filled the air. 

She began to move her hips in time to the music as, one by one, she pulled the pieces of fabric from her armbands and bikini bottom, drawing them over various parts of her body before she cast them aside. She moved ever closer to him, the belly chains the last item she removed before she came to stand next to the low bed clad in nothing but the brief pieces of fabric that were her top and bottom. 

With a hungry growl, he grabbed her hand and gave it a short jerk, soft but firm enough to send her tumbling onto the bed. Roughly, he drew her on top of his body and she gasped as all of their clothing disappeared and she was left naked before his eyes, feeling his growing hardness against her quickly heating lower body. She blushed, looking away at anything but their naked bodies and heard his soft sound of amusement. 

"I do not believe I've seen you blush like that since our first time together," he said against her ear before he reached out his tongue to gently trace the edge of it. 

"It feels like it," she said with honesty. 

"Interesting, very interesting," he said, sucking gently on the lobe as she shivered against him. "Mmmm, you like that, allow me," he whispered before swiftly moving to her other ear and grazing it gently with his teeth. 

Sarah moaned softly, wiggling, the motion causing friction between her breasts and his chest. The dusky tips of her breast hardened instantly and she moaned again as he cupped one breast in his hand, his thumb slowly circling her taut peak as he trailed kisses down her neck, pausing to pay special attention to one edge of her collar bone. She screamed as she was rocked with sensations, her lower body turning hot at the touch. 

He drew back to look at her in surprise. "Well, I can see what you mean about feeling like this is our first time, my sweet," he whispered huskily. "I've never caused that reaction before in such an innocuous place." 

He claimed her mouth in his own, kissing her with a sweet passion, sucking gently at her lip and tracing her teeth with the darting movements of his tongue. He shifted her to her side and a hand trailed slowly down her bare hip and across her flat stomach, coming to rest just above the dark curls that lay at the juncture of her thighs. 

"But here," he breathed softly, breaking the kiss as his fingers unerringly sought the tight bundle of nerves that lay beneath, causing her to scream again. "Ahh, yes, here is where I normally get that reaction." 

Sarah writhed under his hand, the sensation so intense she thought she might explode. At his touch, she could feel herself grow incredibly wet. She grasped the bed with the hand that lay under him, the other clutching frantically at the air as she rose her hips up to meet his touch. She moaned his name low in her throat, over and over. 

At the sound of his name, he again kissed her, one long finger slipping slowly inside her. He growled when he found how damp she had become, the liquid hot against his skin. He slipped the finger slowly out again, swallowing her resulting moan in his mouth as his finger slowly began a journey around the tight bundle, not touching it directly as he circled it. As he did this, his mouth left hers, taking one of her taunt peaks into his mouth. His tongue set pace with his finger, both deliciously circling two of her most sensitive areas. 

Sarah felt something building in her body, a tightness, a yearning she could not name. His tongue and finger drove her ever closer to it and she opened her eyes wide, silently begging release from this feeling. Her eyes met his, his mouth still warmly covered the peak of her breast. When the room started to spin, she thought it was from the sensations, but at once, the thought came unbidden to her mind. 

'It's ending,' her mind whispered as she saw his eyes widen. She was sure he was feeling the same thing she was. 

"I love you, always remember that," she cried out in desperation right before his image began to blur. 

She awoke, drenched in sweat and panting, her whole body on fire and her heart pounding out a furious beat.

* * *

_a/n: Please R/R, I would just adore it!_


	4. The Awakening

_A/N: Ok, here is where I stop for a few days, it is the next chapter that is unfinished. I know what I want to do, just not quite all of it yet! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the movie Labyrinth. The Labyrinth characters and events in the movies belong to Jim Henson, may he rest in peace as his legacy lives on through all of us. I seek to make no profit from this venture and I promise to return everything back the way I found it. _

* * *

A Champion's Prize  
Story by Jessica Arbuckle (Jessi, Princess of Impatience)  
June – probably end of July, 2005 

**Chapter Four, The Awakening…**

In his castle beyond the Goblin City, the King of the Goblins awoke at the same time. Focusing on the dark room, he sighed heavily, sinking back against the grey satin sheets and pillows.

'Just another dream,' he thought sadly. This time, it had felt so real, his bare chest, sleek with sweat, the uncomfortable hardness below and the rapid beat of his pulse real reminders of the events of tonight's dream. He could have sworn it was real, that all the things they had said and done had happened to them, not to his dreaming mind and the image of her it created. Some of it was positively odd, and much different somehow, from the dreams he had prior to this. He stared up at the black canopy above his head and sighed again, remembering her last words.

'I love you, always remember that,' she had cried as the room had begun to swirl dizzyingly before he awoke.

It was almost as if the Sarah of his mind had known it was only a dream. If only it could be true, he would give anything for it to be more than a dream. He sat up and moved from the bed to the window. He would not be able to sleep for some time now, as often happened after he dreamed of her. It was the perfect time for a flight and perhaps he might even fly past her new home. He did not often visit her in the night, but he had not been to this new place yet. No one would need him right now, and even if he was summoned by someone, he would hear it. With that, his clothes appeared on his body and he transformed into an owl, soaring off into the night.

----------------

Sarah pounded the bed, biting back the scream of frustration building inside her. Now there wasn't even a dream of a perfect moment.

"Fine, damn it, I'll just have to do this myself," she ground out, rising from the bed.

Far from the dreams causing her to feel sad or lonely or even regretful upon waking, they had spurred a desire for him that she could contain no longer, a burning determination to tell him everything for real. She had learned, over the years, to never back down when she wanted or needed something. She had learned to ask and even to demand if she was not satisfied. She now knew what she wanted, more than anything she had ever wanted, and she would wait no longer.

Peeling off all her clothes that were now completely soaked, she replacing them with only a simple robe of a diaphanous fabric, meant to cover a nightgown of something more substantial. Alone, it concealed very little, a fact Sarah knew and dismissed wickedly.

"One must be well armed," she muttered with a sly smile. She turned, steeling herself before opening her window. 'I can do this,' she thought.

"I wish Jareth would come to me, right now," she cried out into the night as she swung the window wide.

She waited patiently for several minutes, secure in the knowledge that he would come, although she could not have known for sure, then stepped back as she heard a faint beating of wings. As she did, a large white barn owl glided into the room and landed on the bed. Sarah walked forward, almost right on top of it as it turned from the owl to him – Jareth, the Goblin King, the desire of her heart.

She paused for a moment, almost considering retreat. 'You've never backed down before, don't start now," she admonished herself, and then she pounced. She saw his eyes widen in shock before he hit the bed on his back, Sarah's body landing on him in a perfect fit. Not giving him time to shake the shock of the assault, she leaned down and furiously claimed his mouth. She may not know much more beyond kissing in real life, but he had taught her well in that short dream. Her lips moved over the hard lines of his, which began to soften under hers as he responded. She gently sucked his lower lip between her own and she heard him groan, the sound forcing hot breath against her open mouth. She felt his leather-clad hands tighten on her hips. She also felt, courtesy of the position she had put them in, the most intimate part of him harden again her hip, scant inches from the part of her that still throbbed from the dreams where he had touched her so intimately. She left his lips, trailing soft kisses along the strong line of his jaw, reaching his ear. She took the lobe gently into her mouth, flicking the tip of her tongue over it and he moaned low, the sound impossibly soft.

She laughed softly. "So, we share a desire, do we?" she teased. The words she spoke made him tense and she looked down into eyes swimming with desire. She watched him recover his composure, his mask slipping into place, yet unable to hide the fire burning in his eyes.

"Who **are** you?" he asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You know very well who I am," she said in soft, seductive voice that held a tone of teasing in it as she looked at him with half closed eyes.

"No, I am certain I do not," he said, still suspicious. "You look like a girl I once knew, but you certainly do not act like her."

"So, you do not believe that the girl you once knew could have grown up into the woman you see now?" she questioned, then added in a wickedly mocking voice, "what a pity."

He growled, making a swift movement that somehow reversed their position and now she could feel the lean muscles and hard edges of his body pressed even more firmly to her own. She gasped as the motion brought their lower bodies even closer. She could feel the heat of him through the thin fabric of her robe and the thicker fabric of his breeches. The contact once again made her burn for him.

She was teasing him, mocking him. The real Sarah would never dare to be so bold, to bring him here, attempt to ravish him and then mock him. This had to be a dream, although he swore he had not gone back to sleep.

"You mock me?" he asked her in a rough growl, even as his mind slowly processed the feel of her moist heat through the fabric of their clothing. Looking down, he saw that she was wearing what could barely be termed as clothing, for it left her whole body uncovered to his gaze, only draping it slightly in mystery. He was about to take her, mocking or not, when she spoke.

"No, I would never mock the one I love," she said impishly, watching with happiness as his breath caught in his throat as he processed what she just said.

"Noooo…," he whispered, drawing the sound out in pain, "not another dream." How had he possibly fallen asleep? He had been flying, he was sure of it, and he had never before done that while flying.

He looked so sad that tears sprung to her eyes. Gently she reached up and caressed his face, watching his eyes close in pleasure at the touch.

"No, Jareth, this is no dream. Before was a dream, but all of this is very much real. As real as my love for you," she said softly, placing a light, quick kiss on his lips.

"What do you mean, before?" he asked, even as his mind made the connection.

"I mean, what occurred not but ten minutes before I called to you. Did you forget already?" she said, fighting the sadness that filled her. Maybe he did not remember his dreams. Maybe he did not even know how he really felt, as she had not know only a short time ago.

"I could never forget that," he said, moving off of her and drawing her into an upright position. He tore his gloves off quickly, tossing them to the floor as he gently wiped the tears that coursed down her cheeks.

She reveled in the touch of his bare hands, shocked that it could feel even more incredible than it had only minutes ago. Every touch, every glance, was more miraculously real than she could have ever imagined. She drew her eyes up to meet his, grabbing both of his hands in her own.

"I love you. I have always loved you and I always will love you. It took me such a short time, and yet such a long time, to realize it. I tried to tell you in the dream, but you thought we were playing a game," she said, smiling up at him.

His hands had tightened on hers as she had told him the three words he had longed to hear for the past five years.

"Say it again… please," he begged hoarsely.

"Jareth, I love you," she said, drawing her hands from his grip to frame his face. "I, Sarah Williams, am madly in love with you, Jareth the Goblin King. I love you, I truly love you."

He pulled her to him, his kiss demanding and almost violent in its force. She responded with just as much force, her hands roaming wildly over his face, threading into his long pale hair. The minutes ticked by as they explored each other's mouth and face in earnest for the first time, his hands never leaving her arms and her hands never leaving his hair.

He broke the kiss finally, crushing her to his body. She could feel his heart beating as furiously as her own under her face as it rested on his chest. She heard him sigh, the sound making his chest rise and fall dramatically and she could almost sense his body lighten, as if some terrible burden had been lifted. She realized, with regret, the burden was most likely the last five years.

"I feel like I've been waiting for eternity to hear that," he said, his voice trembling with emotion. Sarah felt surprise at the sound, for she had never seen him display what she was sure he would believe to be weakness. To her, it only spoke of how deeply he loved her.

"I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry I made myself forget," she whispered and then felt his hand slowly stroke her hair as he quietly uttered a shushing sound.

"I forgave you a long time ago Sarah," he said intently against her temple. He drew her face up with a finger, his gaze concentrated on her. "I realized you were too young and I was worried it would drive you to something desperate. When it did, I knew the only way to have you back was to wait for you to realize it. So I waited."

"I can't even begin to imagine what it was like. I am so sorry I caused you such pain and it took me so long," she said, kissing him softly.

He returned her kiss with a gentle one of his own. "I love you."

She had known it, had not needed to hear it, but the words made her heart soar. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, laughing with joy.

"So what exactly changed? How did you come to this realization?" he asked, his face buried in her hair.

"Let's just say an old friend showed me the light and a way into your dreams. Now, about those dreams," she said with a gleam in her eyes. "Would you prefer to start where we left off or go from the beginning."

He looked at her hungrily, his desire returning instantly at her words. "You have certainly grown bold over the years," he said, and she flushed.

"It's an act," she said softly, her face bright red. "I winged it from the first snap of the fabric and the first kiss."

"You've never… at all?" he asked her in shock.

"At all. There has been no one before you… and there will never be another after. I'm hoping you will teach me," she said, almost shyly.

"Oh, help me," he ground out, drawing her close to him. His breathing was ragged as he held on to her, barely daring to move.

"What is it?" she asked timidly.

"I am finding it hard to control my very basic feelings of animal possession and not dance with glee over the fact that I am, and will always be, the only one to ever cause those kinds of responses in you. You came to my dream and you let me touch you in those ways without question, without hesitation, without fear. I only hope," he said softly, "that I can make your first time just as free of hesitation and fear. I want to make it perfect for you Sarah."

"You will," she said softly. She moved from him to lay down on the bed, drawing him down to her once she had found a spot. "Now teach me," she said, gazing up at him.

"Close your eyes," he said, gripping her tightly.

* * *

_a/n: Please R/R, I would just adore it!_


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